Wananchi Group, the company behind Kenya’s once-dominant Zuku broadband brand, has been fully acquired by Axian Telecom, through its pan-African operator brand, Yas, in a deal valued at around US$63 million (KES 9.6 billion) as reported in the media yesterday. 

The acquisition — officially confirmed this week through announcements by Axian Telecom and multiple regional media outlets signals the end of an era for one of Kenya’s earliest and most recognizable fixed-internet brands. For a business that once ruled the broadband Internet market in Kenya, this marks both a reckoning and, possibly, a rebirth.

From Market Leader To Market Laggard

To appreciate what this acquisition means, we need to rewind the clock.

Back in 2015, Zuku commanded a staggering 46.8% market share in Kenya’s fixed internet space according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) — comfortably ahead of Safaricom, Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba), and others. Its triple-play offering — combining broadband, pay-TV, and voice — was ahead of its time. Zuku invested heavily in fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-business (FTTB) infrastructure, effectively pioneering the modern broadband Internet landscape we take for granted today.

At the time, Wananchi Group looked unstoppable. It had raised around US$130 million in 2014 from investors including Altice, Liberty Global, and Helios Investment Partners, followed by a US$72 million debt facility from the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

But success in telecoms is rarely permanent — and in Kenya’s hyper-competitive environment, Zuku soon found itself losing ground, fast.

The Fall: A Decade of Decline

By 2020, Zuku’s market share had already slipped to 34.7%, roughly 175,000 subscribers, as Safaricom Home Fibre and Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba) aggressively expanded.

The warning signs were obvious — service reliability issues, slow response times, and a customer care reputation that left many users frustrated. Speaking from personal experience, I recall when my agency Dotsavvy handled Zuku’s digital marketing a few years back. Despite our best creative and strategic efforts, every post we shared online turned into a thread of complaints — customers venting about downtime, billing, or installation delays.

The real problem wasn’t marketing — it was service.

By late 2022, Zuku’s subscriber growth had slowed to a crawl, and by Q1 2024, its market share had fallen further to 18.8%. The most recent CAK data (June 2025) puts it at just 12.7%, with approximately 271,822 subscribers. In less than a decade, Zuku had gone from being Kenya’s broadband leader to a shadow of its former self.

Enter Axian Telecom — & Yas

So why would anyone buy a declining asset?

Because in the right hands, Zuku’s infrastructure and brand still have massive latent value — and Axian Telecom is not just anyone.

Based in Madagascar, Axian has quietly built one of Africa’s most ambitious telecommunications networks. It operates across 11 countries — from Madagascar and the Comoros, to Togo, Senegal, Tanzania, and the DRC — through a growing portfolio of brands, data centres, and infrastructure businesses.

In Tanzania, Axian made waves when it acquired Tigo (MIC Telecom) and Zantel in 2022, later merging them under the new Yas brand. Yas has since positioned itself as a vibrant, youthful, pan-African telecom, offering both mobile and mobile money services with a focus on innovation and lifestyle.

The Wananchi acquisition therefore represents Axian’s official entry into Kenya, one of Africa’s most dynamic digital economies — and the missing piece in its East African strategy.

Why This Move Makes So Much Sense!

On the surface, the deal might look like a rescue operation. But in reality, it’s a strategic foothold.

Zuku already owns valuable last-mile fiber infrastructure in key urban centres — Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Nakuru. That’s gold for any telecom operator looking to scale broadband or even mobile backhaul.

For Axian, this acquisition complements the Yas operations in Tanzania, allowing for regional network integration — potentially lowering costs, improving service redundancy, and expanding reach across borders.

It also opens a path for convergence — imagine Yas bringing its mobile, broadband, and fintech ecosystems together under one brand in Kenya. If Yas Kenya were to introduce mobile and mobile money services — as it already does in Tanzania — it could disrupt the status quo in a market long dominated by Safaricom and Airtel.

Fixing What Zuku Couldn’t

Of course, none of this will matter if Axian doesn’t fix Zuku’s core weaknesses.

The brand’s biggest Achilles heel has always been service quality — frequent outages, inconsistent speeds, and customer frustration. Yas must address these issues head-on if it hopes to win back trust.

It will also need to invest in modernizing infrastructure, retraining customer support teams, and repositioning the brand — possibly through a complete rebrand from Zuku to Yas Kenya.

Given Yas’ strong marketing playbook in Tanzania — bold, lifestyle-driven, and digital-first — this could inject fresh energy into a brand that desperately needs reinvention.

The Bigger Picture: A Pan-African Telecom Emerges

The acquisition fits neatly into a larger trend: Pan-African consolidation in telecommunications.

Like MTN, Vodacom, and Safaricom, Axian is positioning itself as an integrated digital powerhouse, combining connectivity, fintech, and infrastructure under one roof.

By acquiring Wananchi Group, Axian gains not only assets but also market access to East Africa’s largest economy — with over 70 million internet users and a rapidly growing SME and enterprise market.

It’s also a statement of confidence in Kenya’s digital economy, even as competition tightens. If Yas can deliver reliable, customer-centric services where Zuku struggled, it could quickly regain ground and even challenge the current duopoly.

What Comes Next?

Looking ahead, several possibilities emerge:

Rebranding: Expect Zuku to morph into Yas Kenya, aligning with Axian’s regional identity.

Network Integration: Cross-border fiber connectivity with Tanzania, Madagascar, and beyond.

Mobile + Money Expansion: Possible entry into Kenya’s mobile network and mobile money sectors.

B2B Growth: Leveraging Zuku’s fiber backbone to serve enterprise and SME clients.

Service Transformation: A long-overdue overhaul of customer experience and reliability.

Closing Thoughts

For those of us who watched Zuku rise — and fall — this acquisition feels both nostalgic and hopeful.

Zuku’s decline was painful but predictable. Years of under-investment, poor service delivery, and management churn took their toll. But in Axian’s hands, there’s a genuine opportunity for a comeback story.

If Yas can turn around Zuku’s reputation, modernize its operations, and perhaps even introduce mobile and fintech offerings, Kenya could witness one of the most compelling telecom transformations in years.

The big question is: Will Yas finally deliver what Zuku couldn’t — a reliable, customer-focused broadband and mobile experience worthy of Kenya’s digital future?

We’ll soon find out.